This Week on Broadway – Broadway’s Got the Beat / 02.05.18

Broadway Bound Go-Go’s Musical Head Over Heels to Play Hudson Theatre

Head Over Heels, the new musical featuring the iconic songs of The Go-Go’s, has found its Broadway home. The new musical comedy will open on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre on July 26, with previews beginning on June 23. Before its Broadway premiere, the musical will play a limited engagement at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre this spring. Based on Sir Philip Sidney’s The Arcadia, Head Over Heels is described as “an unpredictable, Elizabethan romp about a royal family that must prevent an oracle’s prophecy of doom. In order to save their beloved kingdom, the family embarks on an extravagant journey wrought with mistaken identities, jealous lovers, sexual awakening, scandal and self-discovery, where everything (and everyone) is not quite what it seems.” Hit songs from the Go-Go’s include “We Got the Beat,” “Get Up and Go,” “Cool Jerk,” “Vacation,” “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “Lust to Love,” “Head Over Heels,” and the Belinda Carlisle solo hits “Mad About You” and “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.” More details here.

The Dear Evan Hansen Original Broadway Cast Recording earned the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album at the ceremony held on January 28. The album was up against recordings of Come From Away and the 2017 revival of Hello, Dolly! Sharing the win for Dear Evan Hansen include composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. With their win, Pasek and Paul have won an Oscar, Tony, and Grammy in less than a year. Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda also earned a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media for the Moana anthem “How Far I’ll Go.” Pasek and Paul were nominated in the category for La La Land‘s “City of Stars” (for which they earned their Oscar last year). More details here.

Dear Evan Hansen’snext title player, Taylor Trensch, took an early bow in the show for 4 performances last week. Trensch joins the musical direct from originating the role of Barnaby Tucker in the Tony-winning Hello, Dolly! revival. He has also appeared on Broadway as Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Michael Wormwood in Matilda and Boq in Wicked. Noah Galvin, who replaced original star Ben Platt, played his final performance on Sunday 2/4. Taylor’s first ‘official’ performance is Tuesday evening 2/6. The winner of six 2017 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Dear Evan Hansen features a Tony-winning book by Steven Levenson, a Tony-winning score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul and direction by four-time Tony nominee Michael Greif. More details here.

The Great Comet to Play Tokyo

The first international production of Broadway’s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 is set to open next January at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre. The Tony-nominated show will be given a new life by Toho, a Japanese entertainment outlet which has been importing classic American musicals overseas for nearly 50 years, in addition to producing lucrative projects like the Godzilla series. The company secured the rights to The Great Comet through Broadway Asia following the show’s unexpected closing in September after a casting controversy. Investors in the production hope to recoup the large portion of the investment lost on the Broadway production with the new international staging. Created by three-time Tony nominee Dave Malloy and directed by Tony nominee Rachel Chavkin, The Great Comet began previews at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre in October 2016, playing 32 previews and 336 regular performances at the time of its closing in September 2017. Inspired by a 70-page slice of War And Peace, The Great Comet features a score that mixes rock, pop, soul, electronic dance music and classic Broadway. More details here.